Difference between revisions of "Yu Hua"
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| − | [[File:Yu_hua.jpg| | + | [[File:Yu_hua.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]]] |
== Childhood == | == Childhood == | ||
| − | Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [[File:753px-Zhejiang_in_China.png|200px|thumb|right| | + | Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. [[File:753px-Zhejiang_in_China.png|200px|thumb|right| Birth Place [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhejiang_in_China_(%2Ball_claims_hatched).svg]]]] |
| − | Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu | + | Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu, went to school and was raised during the cultural revolution. China from 1966 - 1976 suffered a cultural and social-political movement that took place removing anyone opposed to the communist party. This revolution allowed children to take power, controlling and killing as they pleased. Yu Hua reflects back on the red guard and the shame inflicted on their families and their country even mentioning them in several of his novels. Yu Hua briefly mentions that the first twenty years of his live were spent in a impoverish state but the next twenty were lavishly spent. Yu grew up in and around a hospital where his parents were both doctors. Under the direction of his parents and government he studied to be a dentist. |
| − | + | Yu said this of dentistry in a interview with Michael Standaert, "I had been working as a dentist for five years, but I didn’t like the job because I was looking into people’s mouths the whole day. The mouth offers the worst scenic view in the world. I was still young and I wanted to see other more interesting things." (Michael Standaert). | |
| − | |||
| − | + | The only other event that Yu Hua mentions of his childhood was the comical school experience relating to the death of Mao Zedong. Yu at the age of sixteen had been lead out of the school with thousands of other students for an announcement. Mao Zedong had died that morning, "everyone burst into tears. I started crying, too, but one person crying is a sad sight; more than a thousand people crying together, the sound echoing, turns into a funny spectacle, so I began to laugh. My body shook with my effort to control my laughter while I bent over the chair in front of me. The class leader later told me, admiringly, ‘Yu Hua, you were crying so fervently!’” (Pankaj Mishra). | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | He experienced THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION in his childhood. This experience influenced him a lot in his whole life. And we can see a lot in his book about this experience of Cultural Revolution.(Jackie) | |
== Motivations == | == Motivations == | ||
| − | |||
| − | He | + | Yu Hua loves to laugh and during his time as a dentist he found it hard being himself. The lifestyle of a dentist was non-creative and boring. He hated the long hours and poor government allotted pay. Yu had watched the people at the cultural center as they seemingly wandered about the streets the whole day. Yu eventually asked why they weren't working and one man responded that he was, his job was to wander the streets. Yu Hua told himself that was the job for him. After writing some worthwhile articles he was able to make the transition. Securing a job working at the local cultural center. He said this of the new position, "I was still a poor bastard, but a poor bastard in the cultural center who had every minute to himself. I slept until noon nearly every day. Then I would spend my time wandering about in the streets. If there were absolutely no people left to play with me, I’d go home and write." |
| − | + | Yu was asked once what fueled his desires to write? What fueled his desires? His response was that he began writing because he wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted to do. He then mentioned that he would always have to write to express himself. | |
| + | The change gave Yu the freedom to spend his day being social and seeing china from a view other then his dental office. Yu began to express himself though his writing. | ||
| − | + | Another of Yu's motivations was money. Growing up with two parents as doctors you would assume that he was wealthy, but that was not the case. The typical american doctor currently makes around 200,000 where a Chinese doctor on fixed wages by the government makes roughly 42,000. These numbers are not the same as twenty five years ago but you get the idea. Pay then for Yu's parents wasn't that spectacular. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | As an experienced author, Yu dreams of those moments where he's writing and there's no distinguishable line between himself being the author or the reader. He enjoys the fluidity of listing to his inner voice and and being able to write what he feels and hears. | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
== Writing Styles == | == Writing Styles == | ||
| − | + | Yu started a movement in china the french named "Avant-garde". Avant-garde stretches the boundaries of the Chinese government and the social norms of china's current cultural realm. This writing is what Yu became famous for. Yu Hua did this type of writing during the 1980's. Through writing about Extremes in the Cultural Revolution and the mass protests in 1989 he attracted a large audience. The Literary tools he used best were his vivid first-hand observations, and his graphic detail especially during his depictions of the violent scenes. Yu Hua has also been complemented in his writing for how he conveys a rich and complex view of China. The simplicity is something westerners have been waiting for some time. His writing enables westerners to obtain a deeper understanding of the modern and rich culture of china. | |
| − | + | Yu switched to realism and melodrama in 1992 in his novel “To Live.” This atrocity-rich tale of a peasant whose son dies after a blood transfusion to save a party official. This sensationally dramatic piece exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions of Yu's audience. | |
| − | + | Yu in his later years begins to change from his radical writing style "Avant-garde" to a more traditional style. After 1995, when he finished To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, he started writing in a plain and less elaborate style. Yu's transition is explained as himself listening and following his audiences needs. Yu also states that he started to hear the voice of his characters. "I began to dissolve into my writing, to become the characters in my work. This is a truly wonderful feeling." (Michael Standaert) | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | The | + | There are five narrative characteristics of Yu Hua. |
| + | The first one is the CALM NARRATIVE ATTITUDE. He is look for a kind of "selfless" way of narration, in the process of narration ,he tried to avoid direct narrative as soon as possible, in the contrary, he tried to use the dark sky to show the sun. He is just like a glassy-eyed bystanders standing in the scene of the violence and avoids subject emotion. He just use a easy way to narrate important event. Just like his novel <to live>, when narrating the family of seven died one by one, he used a calm and indifferent attitude ,as if the story is far from himself. We can see no emotional attitude in the book. It is because He is influenced by "Western Modernism" that he formed this kind of narrative characteristic. | ||
| + | The second one is the COMMON NARRATIVE TOPIC AND THEME. There are four common topics in his novels.The first one is THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. His novels, like <to live> and <chronicle of a blood merchant>,are about the cultural revolution. We can see there are plots about "large steel making movement", interrogates and parade. These are all the elements of the cultural revolution. Besides, SUFFERING is another common topic of Yu. Most main character in his works are all "misery ridden". For example, the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's experience is typical. DEATH AND VIOLENCE is another common theme in Yu's books. In the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's family died one by one. And in <brothers> Song Fanning's being abused before his death. These are all about death and violence. STARVATION(SEX AND FOOD) is also the main topic of Yu. In the novel <to live>, Ku Gen eats beans as if he can never be full. He stoked to death at last. There is another plot about food starvation in <to live> that is everyone fight for sweet potato. In the book <brothers>, Li Guangtou "peep at other people's bottom". This is an vivid example about sex starvation. | ||
| + | The third one is REPEATED NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND THE COMMON NARRATIVE STYLE.In <brothers>, Li Guangtou peeps at women's bottom and use it change for noodles. In <to live>, the death of Fu Gui's family members. In <chronicle of a blood merchant>,Xu Sanguan sold his blood seven times before and after. These are all plots repeated. Besides, language also appears in his works. Another one is the common narrative style. The protagonists in his novels are mostly live in the bottom. Therefore, Yu uses a folk narrative perspective . The people in his pen are all this kind of people, just lie Fu Gui and Xu Sanguine. Yu Hua's success in overseas are also connected with his folk feelings and civil position. | ||
| + | The forth one is DIVERSIFIED NARRATIVE LANGUAGE. Yu Hua's unique style of writing is also influenced by west. There are long sentences of Europeanization, full of fancy symbolism and metaphor. It is just like the translation of the western language. Also, we can see a concise straightforward language dialogue. these are developed by small figure from a village or town. | ||
| + | The last one is MEMORIES NARRATIVE AND THE SHIFT OF NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Yu's book <to live> just used memories narration. The structure of the book is organized by 'I' and Fu Gui's interview. 'I' listen to Fu Gui memorizing the past and promote the narrative process. There is two different levels in the book: the narrator "I" and the experience of Fu Gui. Yu Hua here practiced this unique narrative perspective. | ||
| + | (Jackie) | ||
| − | == | + | == Legacy == |
| − | + | *"Brothers," published in two parts in China, in 2005 and 2006, sold millions of copies and helped cement Yu's place as one of the country's few homegrown literary stars. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | *Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam. | |
| − | + | * Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002). | |
| − | + | * A film was made of "To Live" by China’s most prominent director Zhang Yimou. It won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. | |
| − | |||
| + | ==Works== | ||
| + | '''Short Stories''' | ||
| + | * Leaving Home at Eighteen | ||
| + | * The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996) | ||
| + | ** Blood and Plum Blossoms | ||
| + | ** Classical Love | ||
| + | * World Like Mist: Eight Stories | ||
| + | * China in Ten Words (American Release Date ) | ||
| − | + | '''Novels''' | |
| − | + | * To Live (1992) | |
| − | + | * Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995) | |
| − | + | * Cries in the Drizzle (2003) | |
| + | * Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005) | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
| Line 82: | Line 84: | ||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
| − | + | Fish Stone Isaac. "Fish Stone Isaac, Talking About His Generation" News week Magazine, Mar 20, 2009. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/20/talking-about-his-generation.html> | |
| + | |||
| + | Freudenberger Nell, The Secret Lives of Dentists, " Slate.com, 24 Oct. 2003, <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2003/10/the_secret_lives_of_dentists.html>. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mishan Ligaya, China as Paper Republic, "The New York Times" 10 Nov. 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/china-in-ten-words-by-yu-huatranslated-by-allan-h-barr-book-review.html?_r=0>. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mishra Pankaj. "Mishra Pankaj, "The Bonfire of China’s Vanities" The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all&>. | ||
| − | + | Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>. | |
Latest revision as of 09:59, 5 June 2016
Childhood
Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China.
Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu, went to school and was raised during the cultural revolution. China from 1966 - 1976 suffered a cultural and social-political movement that took place removing anyone opposed to the communist party. This revolution allowed children to take power, controlling and killing as they pleased. Yu Hua reflects back on the red guard and the shame inflicted on their families and their country even mentioning them in several of his novels. Yu Hua briefly mentions that the first twenty years of his live were spent in a impoverish state but the next twenty were lavishly spent. Yu grew up in and around a hospital where his parents were both doctors. Under the direction of his parents and government he studied to be a dentist.
Yu said this of dentistry in a interview with Michael Standaert, "I had been working as a dentist for five years, but I didn’t like the job because I was looking into people’s mouths the whole day. The mouth offers the worst scenic view in the world. I was still young and I wanted to see other more interesting things." (Michael Standaert).
The only other event that Yu Hua mentions of his childhood was the comical school experience relating to the death of Mao Zedong. Yu at the age of sixteen had been lead out of the school with thousands of other students for an announcement. Mao Zedong had died that morning, "everyone burst into tears. I started crying, too, but one person crying is a sad sight; more than a thousand people crying together, the sound echoing, turns into a funny spectacle, so I began to laugh. My body shook with my effort to control my laughter while I bent over the chair in front of me. The class leader later told me, admiringly, ‘Yu Hua, you were crying so fervently!’” (Pankaj Mishra).
He experienced THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION in his childhood. This experience influenced him a lot in his whole life. And we can see a lot in his book about this experience of Cultural Revolution.(Jackie)
Motivations
Yu Hua loves to laugh and during his time as a dentist he found it hard being himself. The lifestyle of a dentist was non-creative and boring. He hated the long hours and poor government allotted pay. Yu had watched the people at the cultural center as they seemingly wandered about the streets the whole day. Yu eventually asked why they weren't working and one man responded that he was, his job was to wander the streets. Yu Hua told himself that was the job for him. After writing some worthwhile articles he was able to make the transition. Securing a job working at the local cultural center. He said this of the new position, "I was still a poor bastard, but a poor bastard in the cultural center who had every minute to himself. I slept until noon nearly every day. Then I would spend my time wandering about in the streets. If there were absolutely no people left to play with me, I’d go home and write."
Yu was asked once what fueled his desires to write? What fueled his desires? His response was that he began writing because he wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted to do. He then mentioned that he would always have to write to express himself.
The change gave Yu the freedom to spend his day being social and seeing china from a view other then his dental office. Yu began to express himself though his writing.
Another of Yu's motivations was money. Growing up with two parents as doctors you would assume that he was wealthy, but that was not the case. The typical american doctor currently makes around 200,000 where a Chinese doctor on fixed wages by the government makes roughly 42,000. These numbers are not the same as twenty five years ago but you get the idea. Pay then for Yu's parents wasn't that spectacular.
As an experienced author, Yu dreams of those moments where he's writing and there's no distinguishable line between himself being the author or the reader. He enjoys the fluidity of listing to his inner voice and and being able to write what he feels and hears.
Writing Styles
Yu started a movement in china the french named "Avant-garde". Avant-garde stretches the boundaries of the Chinese government and the social norms of china's current cultural realm. This writing is what Yu became famous for. Yu Hua did this type of writing during the 1980's. Through writing about Extremes in the Cultural Revolution and the mass protests in 1989 he attracted a large audience. The Literary tools he used best were his vivid first-hand observations, and his graphic detail especially during his depictions of the violent scenes. Yu Hua has also been complemented in his writing for how he conveys a rich and complex view of China. The simplicity is something westerners have been waiting for some time. His writing enables westerners to obtain a deeper understanding of the modern and rich culture of china.
Yu switched to realism and melodrama in 1992 in his novel “To Live.” This atrocity-rich tale of a peasant whose son dies after a blood transfusion to save a party official. This sensationally dramatic piece exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions of Yu's audience.
Yu in his later years begins to change from his radical writing style "Avant-garde" to a more traditional style. After 1995, when he finished To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, he started writing in a plain and less elaborate style. Yu's transition is explained as himself listening and following his audiences needs. Yu also states that he started to hear the voice of his characters. "I began to dissolve into my writing, to become the characters in my work. This is a truly wonderful feeling." (Michael Standaert)
There are five narrative characteristics of Yu Hua. The first one is the CALM NARRATIVE ATTITUDE. He is look for a kind of "selfless" way of narration, in the process of narration ,he tried to avoid direct narrative as soon as possible, in the contrary, he tried to use the dark sky to show the sun. He is just like a glassy-eyed bystanders standing in the scene of the violence and avoids subject emotion. He just use a easy way to narrate important event. Just like his novel <to live>, when narrating the family of seven died one by one, he used a calm and indifferent attitude ,as if the story is far from himself. We can see no emotional attitude in the book. It is because He is influenced by "Western Modernism" that he formed this kind of narrative characteristic. The second one is the COMMON NARRATIVE TOPIC AND THEME. There are four common topics in his novels.The first one is THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. His novels, like <to live> and <chronicle of a blood merchant>,are about the cultural revolution. We can see there are plots about "large steel making movement", interrogates and parade. These are all the elements of the cultural revolution. Besides, SUFFERING is another common topic of Yu. Most main character in his works are all "misery ridden". For example, the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's experience is typical. DEATH AND VIOLENCE is another common theme in Yu's books. In the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's family died one by one. And in <brothers> Song Fanning's being abused before his death. These are all about death and violence. STARVATION(SEX AND FOOD) is also the main topic of Yu. In the novel <to live>, Ku Gen eats beans as if he can never be full. He stoked to death at last. There is another plot about food starvation in <to live> that is everyone fight for sweet potato. In the book <brothers>, Li Guangtou "peep at other people's bottom". This is an vivid example about sex starvation. The third one is REPEATED NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND THE COMMON NARRATIVE STYLE.In <brothers>, Li Guangtou peeps at women's bottom and use it change for noodles. In <to live>, the death of Fu Gui's family members. In <chronicle of a blood merchant>,Xu Sanguan sold his blood seven times before and after. These are all plots repeated. Besides, language also appears in his works. Another one is the common narrative style. The protagonists in his novels are mostly live in the bottom. Therefore, Yu uses a folk narrative perspective . The people in his pen are all this kind of people, just lie Fu Gui and Xu Sanguine. Yu Hua's success in overseas are also connected with his folk feelings and civil position. The forth one is DIVERSIFIED NARRATIVE LANGUAGE. Yu Hua's unique style of writing is also influenced by west. There are long sentences of Europeanization, full of fancy symbolism and metaphor. It is just like the translation of the western language. Also, we can see a concise straightforward language dialogue. these are developed by small figure from a village or town. The last one is MEMORIES NARRATIVE AND THE SHIFT OF NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Yu's book <to live> just used memories narration. The structure of the book is organized by 'I' and Fu Gui's interview. 'I' listen to Fu Gui memorizing the past and promote the narrative process. There is two different levels in the book: the narrator "I" and the experience of Fu Gui. Yu Hua here practiced this unique narrative perspective. (Jackie)
Legacy
- "Brothers," published in two parts in China, in 2005 and 2006, sold millions of copies and helped cement Yu's place as one of the country's few homegrown literary stars.
- Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.
- Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002).
- A film was made of "To Live" by China’s most prominent director Zhang Yimou. It won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
Works
Short Stories
- Leaving Home at Eighteen
- The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996)
- Blood and Plum Blossoms
- Classical Love
- World Like Mist: Eight Stories
- China in Ten Words (American Release Date )
Novels
- To Live (1992)
- Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995)
- Cries in the Drizzle (2003)
- Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005)
References
Sources
Fish Stone Isaac. "Fish Stone Isaac, Talking About His Generation" News week Magazine, Mar 20, 2009. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/20/talking-about-his-generation.html>
Freudenberger Nell, The Secret Lives of Dentists, " Slate.com, 24 Oct. 2003, <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2003/10/the_secret_lives_of_dentists.html>.
Mishan Ligaya, China as Paper Republic, "The New York Times" 10 Nov. 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/china-in-ten-words-by-yu-huatranslated-by-allan-h-barr-book-review.html?_r=0>.
Mishra Pankaj. "Mishra Pankaj, "The Bonfire of China’s Vanities" The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all&>.
Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>.